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JohnCoker

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I have been working on an update for ThrustCurve.org for several years, but not very actively. Most of the work was done in 2016, but I never deployed it because it wasn't quite finished. At any rate, last week the ISP hosting the old site disappeared and I was forced to deploy the new site.

The good news is, there are a lot of new features:
  • more modern web experience
  • responsive layout to work with phones and tablets
  • relevant links on each page
  • motor listing by popularity
  • ability to mark favorite motors
  • ability to compare motors
  • more explicit motor URLs are search engine friendly
The bad news is, there is still a lot missing.

As always, if you find a bug, let me know. If you want to discuss an existing feature or propose a new one, check the to-do list first, then create a post here on TRF to discuss it. The good news is that the new site is a lot easier to maintain and enhance.

FAQ

Q. Are the phone apps broken?

A. Yes, without the API, they are broken for now. However the new site is designed to work on all sizes of screens so give it a try from your phone or tablet. I will get around to the apps eventually, but I need to do major work to restore them so this won't happen soon.

Q. My old password doesn't work?

A. I migrated over accounts for anyone who entered motor data or created rockets. First try to reset your password and if that doesn't work, you'll have to create a new account. Note that the old site didn't check email addresses very well so some bogus emails weren't migrated.

Q. How can I change the units?

A. Like the old site you can choose your units if you login, under My Stuff/Preferences. In addition to choosing individual units, you can also chose a coordinated set by picking a "Unit Defaults" such as "inches & pounds".

Q. The new site has a different structure, won't that break old links?

A. The new site should handle old requests and redirect them to the new URL. If you have a broken link that was valid on the old site, let me know.

Q. Why isn't xxx working?

A. Either it moved slightly or I haven't gotten around to implementing it yet. You can see the to-do list here.
 
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I've only just had a chance to look at it really briefly, but initial impressions are very, very good.

There are so many websites (especially rocketry-focused sites) that are clearly based on extremely outdated code, it's incredibly refreshing to have one that is kept modern, particularly one as critically useful as thrustcurve.org. Thanks for you efforts!
 
Another way it's more modern is that the implementation is open source and you can see it for yourself on GitHub.

This isn't important for using the site, but if you have questions about how something is implemented there are no secrets.
 
Thank you for this, and for all of the great info you provide to the rocketry community. I have learned a lot from you, and I have never even met you.
 
John,

Wow, great to see the new site! I read though the 'how a motor compares' and it is nice to be able to see that information. A super fantastic feature (IMHO) would be to be able to compare against the filtered motors only, instead all of that impulse class. For example, if I am looking at just CTI 54mm L motors for the 6XL case, it would be great to compare a specific motor to just the other motors in that range.

Or, the ability to export as a CSV or other filetype the filtered motor data.

Thanks for creating such a useful site.


Tony
 
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Just out of idle curiosity, how many MB of data is the whole motor database? Wondering if there's any reason the entire site and its data couldn't be packaged up into a mobile app.

Also: have you considered allowing users to add photos to their saved rockets? My visual brain has an easier time quickly recognizing pictures than a list of names. I realize this is not an important feature.
 
it looks like my login survived the transition. Thanks John!
 
I read thought the 'how a motor compares' and it is nice to be able to see that information. A super fantastic feature (IMHO) would be to be able to compare against the filtered motors only, and not all of that impulse. For example, if I am looking at just CTI 54mm L motors for the 6XL case, it would be great to compare a specific motor to just the other motors in that range.
That's an interesting idea. I'm not sure how one would set up the filter, but I guess something like having a "saved search" or using your last search...
 
Just out of idle curiosity, how many MB of data is the whole motor database? Wondering if there's any reason the entire site and its data couldn't be packaged up into a mobile app.
The data isn't large (about 8Mb as MongoDB BSON files). However, the whole point of this site is that the data is fresh. We already have too many copies of stale data locked up in various programs and I don't want to create more.
 
The data isn't large (about 8Mb as MongoDB BSON files). However, the whole point of this site is that the data is fresh. We already have too many copies of stale data locked up in various programs and I don't want to create more.
I was thinking the app version would auto-load updates periodically (or on demand). Not too hard to do. BUT.... again, just pondering, not requesting.
 
John,

Very kind of you to do so and share with the community. Do you take donations? If so how can those interested contribute and offset some of your costs?

-Jerry
 
I was thinking the app version would auto-load updates periodically (or on demand). Not too hard to do. BUT.... again, just pondering, not requesting.
Yes, that was what the phone apps did if you favorited motors (mostly for off-line use at the launch site). I still think that's a valuable feature the apps have that the site doesn't and why I will eventually restore them. Note that anyone can add this capability as well (at least once I get the API working again).
 
Very kind of you to do so and share with the community. Do you take donations? If so how can those interested contribute and offset some of your costs?
Thanks for the thought, but the monetary costs aren't large at this point. (I'm using the hobby tier of Heroku and the M2 tier of MongoDB Atlas.)
 
John, have you ever considered turning it into an app?
Do you mean a phone app? The new site is responsive so should work on all size screens, but there is still value in the phone apps and I will get them working again at some point.

Do you mean a desktop app? I can't imagine I'll ever spend the time on that. The web finally has consistent support across devices; I can't imagine going back to Windows vs MacOS vs various flavors of X11 toolkits for Linux.
 
That's an interesting idea. I'm not sure how one would set up the filter, but I guess something like having a "saved search" or using your last search...
My thought was to add a 'Compare Motor' button to the screen below.


Tony

Example:
compare.png
 
EDIT: Nevermind. It shows up now.

88DF6048-C600-4B04-8A49-7A83D1BDBA79.jpeg

Did the F67W motor go missing on the new Thrustcurve?

It doesn’t show up in the list of good motors for a rocket of mine that always had that particular motor appear. Flew very well on it as well.
 
The data isn't large (about 8Mb as MongoDB BSON files). However, the whole point of this site is that the data is fresh. We already have too many copies of stale data locked up in various programs and I don't want to create more.
Is the MongoDB database your primary data source or is it generated from something like a combined .eng file (similar to the one provided by Mark Koelsch)?
The reason I'm asking is because I'm wondering if it makes sense to host the master list via Github, so you can, for example, accept pull requests from a volunteer when new motors get released. (on the flip side, contributing requires familarity with git then...)

Reinhard
 
Do you mean a phone app? The new site is responsive so should work on all size screens, but there is still value in the phone apps and I will get them working again at some point.

Do you mean a desktop app? I can't imagine I'll ever spend the time on that. The web finally has consistent support across devices; I can't imagine going back to Windows vs MacOS vs various flavors of X11 toolkits for Linux.

Phone app, so if you are out on the field and do not have service you can still access the program. Or is service required for that as well?
 
Is the MongoDB database your primary data source or is it generated from something like a combined .eng file (similar to the one provided by Mark Koelsch)?
The reason I'm asking is because I'm wondering if it makes sense to host the master list via Github, so you can, for example, accept pull requests from a volunteer when new motors get released. (on the flip side, contributing requires familarity with git then...)
All data is stored in a database. (There's more than just the simulator files, there's motor metadata, user settings, etc.)
The idea of contributing via GitHub is an interesting one, though.
 
Thanks for your time John. I used the guide for two new rockets and flew them with Woosh today in Wisc. The altitude and delay were both good. Greg Olson
 
This is great, thanks!

The email address is case sensitive in the password reset, (and probably login) which is unusual in my experience.

A feature request is to add a column to the motor guide results with manufacturer name, it helps when there are so many same and similar motor designations.
 
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